Beginning today, Matthew “Mattatouille” Kang is the first regular Food GPS columnist. Kang fashions himself a combination of Michael Ruhlman, Alan Richman and Jeffrey Steingarten, but unlike those writers, our resident gastro savant will examine food culture through a Los Angeles prism.

Matthew Kang is a lifelong Angeleno who devotes mind, body, soul (and stomach) to better understand how and why we eat and drink. For now, his column, entitled “Matthew Kang’s Food Insights,” will appear on the L.A. Culinary Compass page of Food GPS, but he will soon be a fixture on the Food GPS homepage. Enjoy his initial thoughts, titled “L.A. Food Isn’t_______.”